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ABOUT THE WAR. 



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" So long as you remain united, ' said the old man, (pointing the attention 
of his boys to the bundle of sticks,) "you are a match for all your enemies; 
but separate, and you are undone." 



PLAIN WORDS TO PLAIN PEOPLE 




PLAIN MAN 



PHILADELPHIA: 

PRINTED FOR GRATUITOUS DISTRIBUTION. 

1863. 




ABOUT THE WAR. 



fri 




" So long as yon remain united," said the old man, (pointing the attention 
of his boys to the bundle of sticks,) " you are a match for all your enemies ; 
but sepabate, and you are undone." 



PLAIN WORDS TO PLAIN PEOPLE 



PLAIN MAN. 



PHILADELPHIA: 

PRINTED FOR GRATUITOUS DISTRIBUTION 

1863. 







■ 






J©-To he h, r ,W rk ing , sobePi indugtrious of the 

Z ; ,0 7' to see the return of pcacefi " - d p-p— <%,, 

*",*: W ° rdS ™ •*"— • - *• hope that they win show h™ 

~ *° CSPCC ' ** re ' U ™' »*" we have cue hear, and one mind 

and one purpose— about the war. 



A FEW PLAIN WORDS, ETC. 



If there is any one thing about which everybody thinks and 
everybody talks, in these days, it is the war. How many feel 
right about it, it is not so easy to tell. One way to feel right 
about it is to understand the cause and consequences of it, and 
in trying to show these we need not use any harsh or unkind 
words. 

We all know how our country began. A few families came 
across the sea and settled on the James River, at the South, 
and were followed in five or six years by another party that 
settled on the shores of Cape Cod, at the North. The new- 
comers suffered a great many hardships, but after a while 
things became settled. The colonies (as they were called) 
were under the English government, as the Canadas are now, 
and for nearly one hundred and fifty years they were pros- 
perous. They had a good understanding among themselves, 
and also with the British government. The farmers and 
fishermen of New England worked hard, and made a comfort- 
able living. They were sober, industrious, and resolute ; 
thought a good deal of churches and schools, and meddled very 
little with anybody's business but their own. 

The people of the colonies of New York and Pennsylvania 
had much the same interests with those of the more northern 
colonies. Iron and coal were then lying undisturbed in their 
mountains, while agriculture and commerce were their chief 
pursuits. 

Farther south were Delaware, Virginia, Maryland, Georgia, 
and the Carolinas. Their interests, then, were not materially 
different from the rest of the country. The people were from 
a different European stock, to be sure, and had different ways 
and manners from those of the North, and perhaps the climate 
and soil had some influence in making them less hardy and 
enterprising ; but friendship and good neighbourhood prevailed 



all around. The vast regions of the continent now possessed 
by the Western and Northwestern States were then an almost 
unexplored wilderness. If you will take the map which your 
child brings home from school, and cover up the space occu- 
pied by Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Illinois, Indi- 
ana, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, 
Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin, Kansas, Minnesota, Oregon, and 
the territories of Utah, Washington, Nebraska, &c, &c, the 
part left uncovered will show you how narrow were the bounds 
of our country in its colonial state. 

Matters went on smoothly enough till the English Govern- 
ment showed a disposition to exact from us what seemed 
unjust. For a while this treatment was borne patiently. 
Humble remonstrances and petitions were sent to London, 
but they did not avail much ; and at last our people deter- 
mined to bear the yoke no longer. It took a good while (as 
it always does) to work the popular spirit up to the point of 
resistance. A body of British soldiers were posted in Boston 
to enforce the offensive laws, and in March, 1770. a collision 
occurred between a portion of this force and the populace. 
On the fifth day of that month, in the principal street of that 
city, the first drop of American blood was drawn bv a British 
bullet, and it kindled a spirit which has staved on our soil from 
that hour to this. The perpetrators of the deed were tried 
but the evidence being conclusive that the assault was provoked 
by the taunts and insults of the people, they were acquitted. 
the citizens determined to rid themselves of the 
presence of an armed hostile force, and it was but a few days 
before every British soldier was withdrawn from that city. 

Three years after this a cargo of tea was sunk in Boston 
harbour, to avoid paying the duties which the British Govern- 
ment imposed on it. The people were determined not to sub- 
mit to what they deemed oppressive and tyrannical laws. To 
resist was a bold step for the feeble colonists to take. They 
would cut off their chief resource for a comfortable subsistence. 
They had no manufactures— had made but little progress in 
the mechanic arts— hud few commercial privileges °beyond 
those which the mother country furnished or controlled— and 
by this step they would involve themselves in a war with one 



of the most powerful nations in the world, and that, too, the 
nation from which they sprang, and with which they had the 
closest ties. Who was there to give them succour or to pity 
them, if they should fail in accomplishing their deliverance ? 

Two years more passed before the separating blow was 
struck, and the Colonies — one and all — declared themselves 
forever free from British dominion. For seven long and 
gloomy years was the battle fought. Under the great and 
good Washington, whose trust in the overruling providence of 
God was as firm as the Alleghanies, an army was maintained 
at sacrifices almost incredible and in the face of difficulties 
almost unconquerable. In spite of disasters and defeats ; with 
many open and secret enemies and plotters of mischief in the 
army and in the national councils, Washington kept the confi- 
dence of the great body of the people until a complete victory 
was obtained, and in 1783 an honorable treaty of peace was 
formed, recognizing the United States of America as a free, 
sovereign and independent nation. This glorious heritage, 
secured at such pains and sacrifices, and enhanced in value by 
the fruits of industry and enterprise which have accumulated 
during the intervening period of eighty years, we are, to-day, 
in danger of losing by the most insane folly ! 

In the grand struggle which ended in our freedom and in the 
organization of the new government, the North and the South 
were one, but there was, of coui'se, much diversity of opinion 
as to the powers which should be relinquished by each member 
of the Confederacy (as it was called) to the central or general 
government, and it turned out upon trial that they did not re- 
linquish enough to give it the requisite energy for accomplishing 
its purpose. When the people became convinced that a differ- 
ent government was necessary for the prosperity and safety of 
the country, a full and fair expression of the popular will 
resulted in the adoption of the Constitution, in the main as we 
now have it. It received the sanction of New Hampshire, 
Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Penn- 
sylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North and South 
Carolina and Georgia. All the States admitted since have 
acknowledged this Constitution to be the supreme law, as a 
condition of admission. 



6 

General Washington was the first called to fill the office of 
President, and at the end of his second term, John Adams 
succeeded him. 

Even at this early period of our national history causes of 
dissension and controversy were apprehended ; and in his fare- 
well address to the people, "Washington fore-warned them that 
" the point in the political fortress against which the batteries 
of internal and external enemies will be most constantly and 
actively (though often covertly and insidiously) directed will be 
the National Union" — " the unity of government which consti- 
tutes us one people." And he enjoins it upon them " to dis- 
countenance whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can, 
in any event, be abandoned, and indignantly to frown upon the 
first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our 
country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now 
link together the various parts." 

Thomas Jefferson succeeded Mr. Adams, and thenceforth a 
more definite shape was given to politics and parties — not by 
geographical lines so much as by different views of the powers 
and prerogatives of the general government. The leaders and 
supporters of the opposite creeds, known as Federalism and 
Democracy, were found indiscriminately at the South and at 
the North. 

From 1787 to 1824, (with the exception of the one term of 
Mr. Adams,) Virginia furnished all our Presidents, viz : 
Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe. In 1825 there 
was no election by the people, and the House of Representa- 
tives placed John Q. Adams in the Executive chair. Then 
came Andrew Jackson, from Tennessee, and served eight 
years. Thus for twenty-eight of the first thirty-six years of 
our history, Virginia and Tennessee furnished the Presidents, 
and no complaint or resistance was manifested, No double 
term has been served by any President since Jackson. There 
had been already introduced into the political machinery the 
mischievous principle, that a political party, upon coming into 
power, is justified in using the patronage of the government for 
the benefit of its party friends and supporters; so that upon 
the accession of each new incumbent the successful party ex- 
pects, as a matter of right, a division of the emoluments of office 



among its leaders and friends. The effects of such a principle 
could not be otherwise than injurious to public virtue. It is 
nothing more nor less than a system of bribery administered 
under the forms of law. This mischievous doctrine keeps the 
political arena supplied with combatants. No sooner are the 
victors in possession of the spoils than the defeated party 
begin the struggle for their recovery. And the wisest and 
most beneficent administration would, in all probability, make 
enemies enough, in disappointed office-seekers alone, to ensure 
its overthrow after two terms, if not sooner. The extent of 
this obnoxious influence is all but boundless. Once in four 
years it exhibits itself on a more extended scale, but it is in 
daily and hourly force through all the grades of public service. 
A change in the political councils of Philadelphia settles and 
unsettles the present livelihood of many thousands of men. 
Who can shut his eyes to the tendency of a principle which 
makes the continuance of two thousand labourers in the service 
of the gas works of that city to depend upon their political 
opinions being in harmony with those of the dominant party ! 
How far this dangerous ingredient in our political compound 
has engendered a lust for power and its concomitants, and so 
involved us in the present disasters, it is not easy to say. 

The contest for the Presidency for the term of 1857-1861 
was sharp, Mr. Buchanan and General Fremont being the 
rival candidates. The former received 174 out of 296 votes. 
Eleven States were greatly disappointed at this result, but they 
did not revolt, nor attempt to block the wheels of government. 
When the time came to select candidates to succeed Mr. Bu- 
chanan, the Democratic party divided, as did also their oppo- 
nents, so that there were four steeds upon the course — viz : 
Breckinridge, Douglas, Lincoln and Bell. There was un- 
usual animation in the preparatory proceedings, but all things 
were conducted under the same forms and with the same guards 
that had attended every previous election. There was no pre- 
tence of fraud or violence or unconstitutionality in a single 
step of the process, and Abraham Lincoln was found to be the 
choice of the people. From that moment he represented in 
his person the sovereign power of the United States of America, 
subject only to the ceremonies of inauguration. 



8 

But before his accession to office the most open and positive 
determination was expressed in the Southern section of the 
country to renounce their allegiance to the constitutional 
government of the country ; and, unfortunately, there were 
connected with the chief administrative bureaus at Washington, 
and also with the army and navy, persons who did not disdain 
to avail themselves of their official positions to favour the op- 
posers of the President elect, and to supply them beforehand 
with the means and facilities for making the contemplated 
resistance. 

Since every constitutional provision had been as strictly ob- 
served in the election of Mr. Lincoln as in the election of 
Washington, Madison, and Jackson, there was of course no- 
thing to be done but to proceed in the organization of the 
government. To execute the will of a majority of the electors 
was simply to comply with the plain provisions of the Con- 
stitution. 

In the meanwhile the insurgents violently seized and held 
fort?, arsenals, custom-houses, post-offices, and other property 
of the United States ; declared themselves absolved from all 
allegiance to the government which they had covenanted to 
support and obey; formed themselves into an independent 
nation, with a new title and flag, and demanded recognition as 
such at home and abroad ! 

There could be no mistake as to the position of the two 
communities. If there ever was a legitimate government of 
the United States entitled to the obedience and support of the 
citizens, and the respect of foreign nations, the government 
inaugurated March 4, 1861, was such. Abraham Lincoln was 
placed in the Executive chair by the deliberate voice of a 
majority of the free citizens of the United States, uttered in 
accordance with the forms prescribed by the Constitution. 
Any State or any number of States might as lawfully and as 
reasonably have refused to acknowledge Jefferson or Jackson 
to be the Chief Executive officer of the government as the 
States of South Carolina, Virginia, or Georgia refuse to submit 
to the administration of Mr. Lincoln. 

Of course the simple question for the rest of the country was, 
Shall we abandon the government or suppress the insurrection ? 



9 

Shall we give up the ship or shall we sink the piratical craft 
that crosses her bows and attempts to interrupt her voyage ? 
There could be but one answer in thoughtful minds and 
from patriotic lips, and history will record it to the credit of a 
loyal people. 

It needed no angel nor prophet to instruct intelligent 
Americans as to their duty in such an emergency. They knew 
full well that the doctrine of " State sovereignty' ' when "stripped 
of the sophistical argument in which it is habited," means the 
subversion of the Federal Government. It is the arm that is 
stretched out between "rebellion and the halter, to rescue the 
traitor from the gibbet. The citizen of the nullifying State 
becomes a traitor to his country by obedience to the laws of 
the State, and a traitor to the State by obedience to the laws 
of his country. The scaffold and the battle-field stream al- 
ternately with the blood of their victims." To avoid such a 
frightful chaos, the only course was for the loyal States to 
present an unbroken front to the insurgents, and sternly and 
steadfastly insist on submission to the constituted authorities 
of the land, as the only condition on which hostilities can ever 
cease. 

If it is asked upon what pretence the States in rebellion 
assumed that attitude, there can still be but one answer, and 
that, too, will history record to the shame of all disloyalists. 
It was because a majority of the free people of the country 
differed from them in the choice of a ruler for the term of four 
years ! It was a repudiation of the principle which every 
American ploughboy understands as the very essence of a re- 
publican government, viz : that the majority shall govern. 

But the inquiry still forces itself upon us, on what act of 
the general government could the insurgents put their finger 
by which the plain provisions of the Federal Constitution were 
violated ? What privileges or protection did any of the States 
enjoy to which other States had equal claim and were refused? 
What obligations had the general government assumed whicli 
were neglected, or in what had it transcended the reservations 
of the several States ? Could not Mr. Jefferson Davis enjoy 
in Massachusetts all the privileges of a citizen of the United 
States which Mr. Lincoln could have enjoyed in South Caro- 



10 

lina ? Did the government accord mail facilities, harbour de- 
fences, aid to public improvements, or freedom of speech and 
of the press to the North, and deny them to the South ? Was 
any Southern Senator ever struck down in the Senate chamber 
of the United States, unarmed and off his guard, by a Northern 
member of Congress ? Was any Southern citizen ever denied 
a hearing in our Northern courts of law, and threatened with 
personal violence while seeking, in a peaceful and legitimate 
way to obtain a decision upon a legal question of public 
interest ? 

Nay, farther, who among the people of the States in rebel- 
lion even now complain that, in every substantial particular, the 
general government has not most honestly and faithfully ful- 
filled its obligations, or that a fair influence has been denied 
them in the councils and legislation of the country? 

Did the farmers and mechanics of the insurgent States 
murmur at taxes imposed upon them by the Federal govern- 
ment, or at restrictions upon their liberty to go where and do 
what they would ? Let the laws of the revoked section of the 
country, and the laws of the general government, be examined, 
and see which interfered most with the inalienable right to 
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 

Whence, then, it is asked again, this unnatural strife ? Why 
is it that a country which but three years ago was at peace 
within itself and with all the world, and in the enjoyment of 
almost unprecedented prosperity, has suddenly become the 
theatre of a ferocious, bloody, devastating civil war ? 

The answer is at hand. It is the fruit of an insatiable 
lust for -power. The great mass of the quiet, industrious, 
thrifty people of the land are drawn into a vortex which a few 
unprincipled demagogues have produced. Our vast foreign 
population — with habits, principles, and views not always in 
accordance with those which our American-born people love to 
cherish — have been made, in a large measure, subservient to the 
schemes of artful politicians. New interests have sprung up in 
different parts of the country, for which protection has been and 
is sought, and a system of "log-rolling" has been introduced 
into most of our legislative bodies, eminently favourable to the 
schemes of wily and corrupt men. The extension of the boun- 



11 

claries of the Union, the admission of new States, and the 
organization of new Territories, must of necessity have their 
influence in shaping the policy of the government, and test the 
elasticity of the Constitution to adapt itself to this new order 
of things, and in no important respect has it yet proved in- 
adequate to the exigencies of the country. It is now encoun- 
tering the sternest ordeal that any human government was 
ever called to pass. God grant it a safe deliverance ! 

There seems to have been but one interest that has suffered 
irreparably by the growth and prosperity of our country, and 
that is African slavery. It has asked and demanded a pro- 
tection which the Constitution, neither in its letter nor spirit, 
could extend to it or allow it to receive. It asked liberty (or 
rather claimed the right) to extend itself into free territory, 
and the voice of the people, uttered in a constitutional form, 
said, emphatically, No ! The political leaders in the slave 
States, seeing but too clearly that if this liberty were denied, 
and the institution to which they are wedded were restricted 
to its present limits, its extinction becomes a mere question of 
time, resolved upon the desperate alternative of rebellion; and 
inasmuch as many persons who had been conspicuous in the 
anti-slavery ranks favoured and acted with the party that 
nominated Mr. Lincoln, and as the time of the outgoing of one 
administration and the incoming of another is usually attended 
with some excitement and confusion, that was seized as a 
fitting juncture for a demonstration. 

It is one of the notable tokens of the desperation which 
marks their course, that it should not have occurred to the sece- 
ders to consider what would be the position of their " peculiar 
institution" when the barriers with which the Federal govern- 
ment protected it, were removed. An eminent statesman 
once said, that " if Southern leaders would interpret the ten- 
dency of abolition doctrines wisely, they would see the value 
of the Union as the only thing which can preserve slavery 
from annihilation." 

After the nucleus of a new confederacy was formed, by the 
separation of South Carolina from the body politic, it was not 
difficult to persuade those who had a common interest with her 
in preserving slavery, to join her fortunes ; but it is confidently 



12 

believed that history — impartial history — will show, that in 
not one solitary case have the people of either of the States 
in rebellion, by a fair, deliberate vote, sanctioned the violation 
of the Union compact. 

But the step once taken must be maintained, and the muster- 
ing and equipment of armies, the building of forts and ships of 
war, and the shock of battle soon proclaimed, with horrid em- 
phasis, that brothers were in deadly strife. 

And what can honest and true-hearted citizens now do but 
defend the national authority ? Whatever of peace and pros- 
perity and renown we have attained, were attained under tlii3 
insulted government. Our national wealth and influence have 
grown up to their present position under the stars and stripes. 
Can we hope for a better government if we abandon the one we 
have ? Can we trust those to govern us who themselves refuse 
to obey ? We have a constitutional President, a constitutional 
legislature, and a constitutional judiciary. They may not be 
all or altogether such as we like, but who will guaranty some- 
thing better in their place? Even if it were wise to organize 
our political system anew, who would rule while we are doing 
the work ? Or who would select such a time as this for such a 
purpose ? 

If a feud should occur in a family, and two out of six chil- 
dren should rebel against parental authority, while the other 
four are disposed to think their father and mother about 
as good care-takers as they could expect under any change, it 
would clearly be the part of wisdom in the dutiful children to 
adhere to the old folks, rather than break up the family and 
see what would come out of the ruin. 

Now the only true way for us to do in our present emer- 
gency is to make everything yield to the support of the govern- 
ment as it is. Whatever mistakes, or neglects, or wrongs we 
see, or think we see, let them pass for the moment, consider- 
ing that, at the worst, it is a better government than none. 
A "ii as we are well out of this deadly struggle, we shall 
know with what elements we have to deal, and we can then 
punish, correct, and prevent as the case may demand. But 
now the watchword must be " Unity for the sake of the Union." 

" There is a time to speak and a time to keep silence," and 



13 

this is a time for those who cannot uphold our government to 
keep silence- They must consent for the time being to endure 
what they may not approve, and to hold their peace, though 
they cannot endorse the policy of the administration. There was 
no mincing of matters with such persons in the great struggle 
of 1776, when there were far more plausible excuses for neu- 
trality or for open opposition on the part of sympathisers 
with the British, than can be pleaded for present sympathy 
with the Southern insurgents, for many sagacious men held it 
to be very problematical whether the colonies would better 
their condition even if they succeeded in the contest. But no 
reflecting man (certainly no loyal man) can doubt that upon 
the complete and speedy suppression of this revolt depends — 
not only the prosperity and dignity, but the very existence of 
the American nation. The man who favours any terms with those 
in revolt, short of unconditional submission to the same powers 
that we acknowledge, is for taking away the only timber that 
shores up our vast political fabric, viz. : the government. Are 
our fellow-citizens prepared for the stupendous ruin that must 
follow? When the heroic struggle of the Revolution closed 
upon our impoverished country, burdened with an enormous 
debt, while the general stagnation of business and the great 
depreciation of the currency filled the people with gloom and 
discontent, it was not surprising that some open demonstra- 
tions of popular feeling should occur. And under such circum- 
stances a plausible plea might be urged for leniency towards 
the offenders, which would be preposterous in the mouth of 
actors in the present insurrection. In two or three of the New 
England States such resistance was made to the public autho- 
rities as to require the employment of military force to sup- 
press it, and fourteen of the leading spirits in the revolt were 
condemned to die. 

It was in relation to this event that Washington, in a letter 
to Col. Henry Lee, used the following language: "You talk, 
my dear sir, of employing influence to appease the present 
tumults in Massachusetts. I know not where that influence is 
to be found, or, if attainable, that it would be a proper remedy 
for the disorder. Influence is not government. Let us have a 
government by which our lives, liberties, and properties will be 



14 

secured, or let us know the worst at once. There is call for 
decision. Know precisely at what the insurgents aim. If 
they have real grievances redress them, if possible. * * * 
If they have not, employ the force of the government against 
them at once. Let the reins of government then be braced 
and held with a steady hand, and every violation of the Con- 
stitution be reprehended. If it be defective, let it be amended; 
but not suffered to be trampled upon whilst it has existence." 
Such words smack of good sense, sound logic, and true patriot- 
ism. Let them have their proper weight in these times. 

And what construction can be placed upon attempts to 
make the government odious, or upon a deliberate refusal to 
sustain and defend it, but that of hostility to its existence, 
and, of course, sympathy with those who seek its subversion ? 
Can a man take fire in his bosom and not be burned ? Shall 
disloyalty lift up its voice in our streets in 1863, and not be 
rebuked as emphatically as toryism was rebuked in 1776 ? 
There is a lawful government of the country. It is the only 
organ through which the popular will of the United States can 
act. It cannot be displaced nor changed, but by violence, until 
the official term of the various incumbents expires. Can we 
do better than to uphold it, and crowd its enemies to the wall ? 

If the ground assumed by the States in revolt is yielded, 
what bond is there to hold together any two States that may 
remain — North or South, East or West ? What becomes of 
our national power, influence, or title to respect ? In such an 
event, must not the wealth and enterprise and energy of this 
young nation become the prey of contending factions, and our 
very name be a hissing and a byword among other nations? 

Our countrymen, who have plunged us into this terrific 
strife, knew full well the advantage they will derive from a 
division in Northern sentiment. And hence, those who are 
disposed to foment such a division, are justly regarded as hos- 
tile to the government and abettors of revolt. We should do 
well to learn a lesson from our enemies in this behalf, who 
not only concentrate all their moral and physical strength 
upon the issue before them, but tolerate nothing that puts it 
in doubt or jeopardy. 

What we need at this juncture is a fair expression of the 



15 

loyal sentiment of the country. Let all who are true to the 
banner of freedom come North, and all who favour its dis- 
honour go South, and the most sceptical would soon be con- 
vinced that we are still a nation, and that we have a constitu- 
tional government which the people are resolved to maintain at 
all hazards. The fight is for liberty — for American liberty 
— and it must be fought by ourselves. Any foreign intrusion 
will be regarded as impertinent and insulting. " Uncalled for 
interference seldom avails with the contending parties, while 
the well-meaning mediator involves himself in the strife to his 
own mischief." A wise king has warned the world, that he 
"who meddles with strife belonging not to him, is like one 
that taketh a dog by the ears." 

Let us, then, rally, one and all, for the Union — the Union one 
and indivisible. The moment the bond is sundered that holds 
the bundle of sticks together, each stick may be snapped like 
a pipe-stem. 

There are those who profess to think well enough of the gov- 
ernment, but they can have no j>atience with the administration. 
And pray, what is the "government?" Is it not the power 
vested by the Constitution in the executive, legislative, and 
judicial departments? And what is the "administration" 
to-day, but the agents constitutionally appointed to execute 
the will of the people of the United States ? And is not this 
the government ? If not, what is ? Surely no sensible man 
can be duped by the extreme absurdity of supposing that the 
government can be loved and the administration hated. He 
who in the present crisis withholds his support from the 
Federal government, as it is administered — gives it, in the 
same measure, to the rebel government, as it is administered. 
Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis represent the two 
powers that are in conflict, and it is true in this relation as in 
a higher and a holier one, that "no man can serve two mas- 
ters. Either he will hate the one and love the other ; or else he 
will hold to the one and despise the other. * 

Our choice lies between the government we have and none 
at all. Every farmer, trader, mechanic, professional man, 
and labourer has a momentous interest in upholding the gov- 
ernment till this storm is overpast. It will be time then to 



16 

consider suggestions of improvement and precaution. One 
week of anarchy would suffice to show the value of authority, 
even though imperfectly and injudiciously exercised. Let 
us turn a deaf ear, then, to the counsels of treacherous friends 
as well as open enemies, and hold no man in our confidence 
who does not, hy word and act, sustain the constitutional gov- 
ernment of the country. Side issues, however plausible, must 
not be entertained for a moment. If negro slavery is throttled 
in the present struggle, so be it. If it escapes, it will have 
but a short run; but if we lose the government, we are all 
slaves without the choice of a master ! 

Would that every man who has a drop of American blood 
in his veins could forget all other ties and interests till this 
transcendent question of national integrity is decided! We 
are guardians of a sacred trust — more sacred than that in the 
keeping of any other nation upon which the sun ever shone. 
If we are true to ourselves, our passage through this fiery 
ordeal will but establish more firmly and lastingly our wise 
and beneficent government, and an unexampled career of 
national grandeur and prosperity awaits us. 

If, on the other hand, we allow ourselves to be weakened 
and distracted by divided counsels and irrelevant controversies, 
the enemy will triumph over us, the slave-power will usurp 
the throne of constitutional liberty, and our madness and 
infamy will find appropriate monuments in barren fields, ship- 
less harbours, closed factories and workshops, unwrought 
mines, desolated towns and villages, deserted sanctuaries and 
school-houses, and a degraded, dispirited population ready to 
how their necks to the heel of some military despot ! 

Such is not the heritage we received from our fathers. 
►Shall it be the heritage we leave to our children ? 



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